CHAPTER 80: GET OUT FROM TANSEL SWAMP

The giant lizard quickly swung its sharp claws and prepared to finish off Shaan, but luckily, he immediately blocked the attack with his dual short swords.

’Cling! Cling!’

"Damn it, I never expected a giant lizard to appear here."

"Oh, no, no." Chelsie’s face tensed. "Shaan, hold on. We’ll try to find a way to get you out of there," Chelsie frantically said. "Lira, Lira, we—we need to do something!"

Nalira froze for a moment. "Shaan, get away from the giant lizard." A small fireball instantly formed in Nalira’s hand. "I’ll use my ability to burn the giant lizard that’s—"

"No, don’t do that." Mr Courier stopped Nalira instantly. "This quicksand has some kind of gas that reacts strongly with fire and even a small spark enters the surface of the quicksand, the entire surface will catch fire, and Shaan will not be able to escape from there."

"S-So, what should we do now?" Chelsie asked, her voice trembling. "We can’t just stand here and let that giant lizard kill Shaan, can we?" Nalira stroked her chin. "At least if we can slow down its movement, we might—"

"Robin Hood, use Phantom Snare on this giant lizard!" Shaan shouted, struggling more and more to block the lizard’s relentless attacks. "Hurry!"

[I get it, Shaan.]

Robin Hood quickly shot an arrow, hitting the giant lizard’s body. In a matter of seconds, the giant lizard was paralyzed, giving Shaan the perfect chance to strike back.

"Take this, you damn creature!"

’Slash!’

Shaan’s slash brought the lizard crashing down, and its body sank deeper into the quicksand. Good, he finally got rid of it and now he had a chance to escape.

’I must get out of this quicksand as soon as possible.’

Shaan tried to move his body and walk out of the quicksand. But the more he moved, the heavier his legs felt, and for some reason, the quicksand around him seemed to rise higher, now reaching his waist.

"Shaan, stop right there!" shouted Mr courier. "The more you move, the faster this quick sand pulls your body down!"

"B-But if I just stand here, the quicksand keeps dragging me down anyway!"

"Listen to me. Stay still and don’t move," said Mr courier, looking around. "There must be something I can use to... Ah, here it is." He quickly grabbed a sturdy branch nearby and threw it toward the quicksand. "Hold onto this, and I’ll pull you out of there."

"We’ll help too," said Chelsie and Nalira in unison, gripping the branch. Seeing it, Shaan reached out and tried to grab the branch Mr courier had given him. However, the branch was still too far away for him to reach. With all his strength, Shaan stretched out his arms until he finally managed to grab it.

"Now!"

All three of them pulled the branch with all their strength, and little by little, Shaan’s body rose out of the quicksand. Good. If they kept pulling like this, he would get out soon.

’Come on... just a bit more... I’m almost out of this damned mud.’

Unfortunately, Shaan suddenly felt something behind him grab his leg very strongly. To make everything worse, the grip made Shaan’s body even heavier, causing him to sink deeper into the quicksand.

"W-What the hell is going on?"

Slowly, Shaan turned his head back, and his face tightened as he saw it was a giant lizard’s hand. Damn. He never expected the creature to still be alive. It had sunk into the quicksand moments ago.

’This is bad. If I don’t get rid of this damn lizard quickly, I’ll be trapped in this quicksand.’

"Ugh, damn," muttered the courier master as he kept pulling the branch. "W-Why does it suddenly feel so heavy?"

"Shaan, what’s happening over there?" Chelsie’s face grew increasingly red.

"A giant lizard. This creature... It’s trying to pull me down with it," Shaan said as he struggled to break free from the creature’s grip.

"Shaan... you have to get rid of it before this branch snaps," said Nalira. "Hurry."

Without hesitation, Shaan swung his dual short swords and slashed at the giant lizard’s arm. The giant lizard let out a pained growl, and Shaan immediately kicked it straight in the face, sending its body completely into the quicksand.

"Nice work, Shaan!" shouted Mr. Courier. "Now let’s pull you out!"

With all of their strength, the three of them pulled the branch once more, and finally, Shaan was able to escape the sucking quicksand unharmed. Shaan immediately let out a long breath, realizing he had just escaped from the grip of death.

"Shaan, are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Courier." Shaan nodded his head, then slowly turned his gaze to the side. "Thank you both as well."

"Uhm... It’s nothing." Chelsie covered her face, which was starting to turn red. "I, I just did what I could."

"You’re welcome. Glad you’re okay, Shaan."

"I think we should leave this place before..." Mr. Courier widened his eyes as he saw several giant lizards approaching him. "Oh, no. Those creatures keep chasing us. We have to get as far away from here as possible."

"It’s pointless. Completely pointless," Shaan said, shaking his head. "If we don’t do something, these giant lizards will keep chasing us. We have to stop them."

"Umm... but how? How can we stop these giant lizards from moving?"

"I think I know what we have to do."

Without saying another word, Nalira immediately gave Satan the order to burn the entire quicksand. In just a few seconds, the quicksand turned into a sea of fire, causing the giant lizards to stop chasing them.

"Good, now’s our chance. We have to get out of here as quickly as possible."

Without wasting any time, they all ran, following the courier master who led them from the front. Eventually, they managed to escape the area. A sense of relief spread across their faces as they realized they had safely made it through the Tansel dark swamp.

"Thank goodness," Shaan wiped the sweat from his forehead. "At least those giant lizards won’t be chasing us anymore."

"Uhmmm... yes, you’re right, Shaan." Chelise nodded her head and walked out of the cluster of trees. "But, what... what is this?"